AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Missouri on Election Day

WASHINGTON (AP) — Missouri voters will elect representatives to Congress on Tuesday following a long-running legal drama that was settled in September by the U.S. Supreme Court — three times .

At issue was the mid-decade redistricting plan adopted by state Republicans as part of President Donald Trump's push to redraw congressional district boundaries ahead of schedule to boost the party's prospects of holding its fragile House majority.

The Court's decision means that voters might cast ballots in the same districts as they did in the 2022 and 2024 elections, even though they may have voted in differently shaped districts in the Aug. 4 primary .

Voters will also decide races for state auditor, the state Legislature and five statewide ballot measures , including Proposition A on congressional redistricting and Amendment 3 on abortion and gender transition for minors.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

Polls close at 7 p.m. local time, which is 8 p.m. ET.

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested races for U.S. House, state auditor, state Senate, state House and the statewide ballot measures.

About 2.1 million votes were cast in Missouri's 2022 election for U.S. Senate.

About 23% of the vote in the 2022 Senate election was cast early in-person or by mail.

The latest advance vote totals for Missouri can be found in the AP’s advance vote tracker .

The first vote reports of the night tend to be a mix of all vote types. Counties overwhelmingly release all or almost all early in-person and Election Day results at the start of the night. The vast majority of counties also release mail voting results in the first vote report.

In the 2024 general election, the AP first reported results at 8:18 p.m. ET, or 18 minutes after polls closed. The vote count reached the half-way mark at 10:30 p.m. ET and 90% of total votes counted at 12:30 a.m. ET.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Missouri does not have automatic recounts, but candidates for federal, judicial and state offices, including state Legislature, may request a recount if the margin is less than 0.5% of the vote. Candidates for local offices may request a recount if the margin is less than 1% of the vote. A court may also order a recount as part of an election contest proceeding. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/ .